Thursday, March 26, 2009

From The Wife:M&M is doing well so far in his start of his last cycle of chemo round 4. Today is day 2 and their is only 3 more days to go. Three days around the corner seems like it will never get here fast enough for M&M.

All the nurses love M&M. You can say that he is the ideal patient. He is quiet and really doesn't demand much attention while at COH. The nurse that we had today was feeling a little guilty because he wasn't asking for anything and she would come in and check up on him to make sure he didn't need anything, which was pretty funny.

He was moved to the big hospital today which was nice. I feel like his spirits are lifted here than when he is at the old hospital in the corner room.

Just hang in their honey, the treatment is almost over and you will be back home in your own bed soon!

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

It was good talking to Moshura today. Round Three chemo sounds like it was a bigger pain in the arsch than Round Four, but not because Round Four is a cakewalk, but because of the lack of sleep and all of the details, disruptions and delays associated with having chemicals pumped into your veins for a week!! We can't wait to see Moshura come home and stay on top at this next round. We love you!!

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

O.K. far from it!! I mean "rich" metaphorically.... with love and support :) I heard you guys had a great weekend celebrating Caballito's bday and Marco's return home after his chemo. It looks like you guys were having a good time, and I see I was there in spirit...or rather, encased in a small glass frame!

Well, looks like times are really tough now and there's a lot of work to be done, questions to be answered about health insurance, work, economic recovery, all the pains and hardships that a disease like this can put an entire family through. So we are here if you need help. Please just let us know how we can help and we can work through these tough times!!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

I don't know, I was just thinking what a great thing it would be if the possibility to cure certain cancers was within our reach in this lifetime. Anything's possible. Check out the information on Stem Cell Research for some interesting presentations on the subject.

Our New Blog

What is Soft-Tissue Sarcoma?

Soft tissue sarcomas are cancerous tumors that originate in the soft tissues of the body.

These tissues include muscle, fat, blood vessels, nerves, tendons and the lining of the joints. Marco's sarcoma started off as a tumor in his calf muscle in December 2007. The tumor was surgically removed, then treated with radiation.

The cancer later spread to his lung area, the tumors were also surgically removed, his body treated with chemo. He had three more tumors in his lungs, which they tried to shrink down with chemo.

Doctors had ruled out any more surgeries after chemo but they finally agreed.

On March 15, 2010 they removed the three tumors from his lungs, a section of the lung and diaphragm and three sections of ribs. Marco was in intensive care for over a week fighting an infection.

A CT scan showed worrisome signs that the cancer was back and it was confirmed with a PET scan.

Marco went through the maximum number of chemos to try to shrink that tumor. The tumor was not being responsive to the chemo in the shoulder area and there was a new tumor discovered near the aorta that was showing some response.

On Jan 15, 2011 Marco started 6 weeks of radiation aimed at his chest area, 5 days a week 30 min a day before surgery options were put on the table again.

After much debate, surgery was completed March 28, 2011. Marco underwent a painful recovery at home, only to discover over the Labor Day weekend that the sarcoma has spread to his brain.

Marco had brain surgery September 2011 to have the brain tumor removed. He also completed radiation to the operated area. On October 2011, Marco exhausted all of his treatment options at City of Hope. Marco entered home hospice care.

On March 3, 2012, Marco passed away at home surrounded by his family. You can read the posts and archive to read his story.